Today we will continue the marriage series with Part 3: What Have You Learned From The Unexpected and How Have You Grown As A Couple. Last week we had to discuss the hard moments of marriage so far and the week before we shared the funny and happy times.
I think this is a great topic to share for dating couples and brides to be. I am sharing these personal experiences relevant to my marriage but I certainly don't know everything there is to know. I hope that this series has been inspiring to you so far. I cannot wait to recap our anniversary next week (which happens to be MY BIRTHDAY).
First of all, what was the unexpected? One major thing that I never thought we would have so much of already is car troubles. Both of cars seemed to be in the shop constantly. How can I really learn from this when its something I can't control?? Well, it has actually made me realize that I am a grown up (darn...haha) and I have to do the responsible thing by fixing the problems our cars have had even if that means throwing away spending A LOT of money in the process. Before I was a Mrs. if I had car problems, my parents would step in and help out. Now the hubby and I have to be sure to budget wisely so that we can save enough money for emergencies like these. I have to give major props to him for keeping us on track with budget. Even though we have had some hiccups with expenses (like the car troubles) he makes sure we are saving money and not spending on things we don't really need.
Another (sort of) unexpected thing has been the job searches. When we got married last June, neither of us had a job. Yikes, right? Tim was going to be in graduate school for another year and I had an internship lined up but nothing permanent. I am not going to lie to you...I was scared. My internship kept getting pushed back to start later and later and I ended up with nothing to do for over a month. I wasn't complaining too much because it was nice to go to the pool or just spend my days as I pleased but our wedding money would last but so long. I started to get really worried when I found out that my internship in fact couldn't turn into a full time job. I felt like I had already searched every firm in Richmond and was losing hope. In the end, I obviously found Courtney's job opening and believe me it was such a blessing. It only got better from there. Tim was able to work part time while in school and now we both have full time jobs!! This experience made me learn to just hand things over to Him and the good will come in His timing. It took a lot of prayers and worrying but God provided for us. Now we are workin' on those school loans!
One last thing that was actually kind of expected, but I learned a lot from was "the holidays". Luckily, our families live really close by to each other because we are high school sweet hearts and from the same town. I knew we were going to have to come up with a game plan for splitting the time between both families. I think we did really well but it took a lot of listening and understand each other and finding out the most important moments in each family's traditions for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I learned that as long as we are together, everything will work out and that family time is so precious!!
I think all of these things have helped shape me even in such a short amount of time and have definitely caused us to grow as a couple. Tim and I have been dating since November of 2005 so we already know each other really well.....Therefore we may not have seen as much growth as "newer" couples. With all that being said, I do think that our communication is stronger.
I love that we get to spend EVERY day together. In our dating relationship, there were lots of times we had to be apart for school and that helped us to grow as a couple but I am SO thankful to have my best friend by my side forever.
Yes to the car trouble (though, I'm lucky because my husband is a mechanic... but it's still big $$) And YES to the holidays!! I was thinking of mentioning that but I didn't want to offend any family that reads my blog. But yes, that was a HUGE issue this year since we have 4 separate families to visit. Craziness! Thanks for sharing this! =)
ReplyDeleteUgh car troubles are JUST THE WORST and I'm oober jealous of Karla's husband's talent in them! haha
ReplyDeleteHolidays are hard, we're so far it makes it harder and easier at the same time...
I completely feel you on the holidays...that is one thing that I think a lot of newlyweds maybe don't think about as much, but it turns into something you really have to plan and think about (:
ReplyDeleteAh yes, the holidays! We live 20minutes from my in-laws and see there 2 to 3 times a week. My mom lives on the other side of the country and we hardly see them. My mom is also super jealous!
ReplyDeleteThe holidays are always tough for us, too! It seems like we always jip one family and then spend too much time with another, then we feel like we did not spend enough time together as a couple. I think in the next few years we will definitely find out a suitable plan that works much better for everyone involved, even if he and I are the only ones in agreement! All around great post!
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